Moreno Valley School District Sued After 3rd-Grader Allegedly Sexually Assaulted a Classmate With Special Needs

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A lawsuit has been filed against the Moreno Valley Unified School District after a third-grader was accused of sexually assaulting a classmate with special needs, the alleged victim's mother told KTLA on Wednesday.

Akeila Lundy filed a complaint against the school district in March for negligence and violations of civil rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The abuse happened multiple times during the second semester of the 2017 school year at Honey Hollow Elementary School in Moreno Valley, according to the court filing. Some of the incidents happened during class, while a teacher was present, the complaint said.

The complaint said the victim spoke to her mother in February 2017, asking her to make another girl "stop touching my secret."

Lundy told KTLA she called the girl's mother the next day, who said she would take care of it. Lundy said she then alerted her daughter's homeroom teacher, the principal and school psychologist, who said they would report it to the police.

Lundy claimed that report was not made. The principal, Joshua Jackson, instead made the victim sign a statement to avoid liability, according to the complaint. The school district denied the allegations in a response filed in court in April.

Lundy said the accused girl was eventually suspended for two days, but her daughter was subsequently bullied.

The mother told KTLA she was forced to take her daughter to another school 15 miles away.

“I just want my daughter to know that she’s my hero, that she told the truth, and that’s what she was supposed to do," Lundy said. "I don’t know why it was just so hard to do the right thing."

In a statement released on Wednesday, the school district said it could not legally comment on the lawsuit.